Stuttgart - Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug has called for plans to introduce the hybrid system KERS in Formula One to be scrapped as a cost-saving measure.

Haug, whose company is part of the McLaren-Mercedes team, told the German weekly Motorsport aktuell published Tuesday that "the time for games is over" as motorsport seeks ways to rein in costs.

From next season teams will be allowed to use KERS - Kinetic Energy Retention Systems - to harness the energy created by a car's brakes and reuse it as a source of power.

However, it is still at a development stage and is an enormous cost factor for Formula One teams.

The global financial crisis hitting car manufacturers is prompting Formula One to speed up efforts to cut costs. Japan's Honda announced on Friday it was ending its F1 engagement.

KERS "is an extremely expensive exercise" and it would be possible to save 25 per cent of engine budgets by scrapping its introduction, Haug said.

Most of the teams are said to be in favour of at least shelving the technology.

The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) last week agreed on plans for a new low-cost engine and a drastic reduction on the testing limit as part of its efforts to cut costs. (dpa)